Page 13 of Cowboys Next Door

“Whoa!” Rose titters, glancing at me. “I usually just eat, like, a bagel and coffee or something.”

Katherine is rightfully appalled, and I shrug.

“I don’t think that’s going to fly around here,” I offer. “You’re gonna need to keep your strength up if you want to run with the rest of us.”

“You need to eat breakfast, sweetie,” Katherine insists. “I’ll fix you a plate.”

“That’ll be great,” Rose agrees amiably.

I cast her a sidelong look, wondering what it was like for her growing up. She seems so… normal. I’d heard the sordid tale she’d told the previous day, and it had hit a little too close to home in some respects.

My father mentioned Cory Winterbourne in passing over the years. Although he had fond childhood memories of him, he never had anything good to say about Cory as an adult.

I never thought much about Cory Winterbourne. I never had a reason to.

Until now.

But if both of Rose’s parents were deadbeats, and Rose was left to fend for herself so young, could she really have come out unscathed, smiling and allowing things to roll off her shoulders as she made it seem?

Could be it’s like father, like daughter.

I need to check Rose out a bit more thoroughly—for Katherine’s sake.

Obviously.

“Connor, did you come here so early for a reason this morning, darling?” Katherine asks, bringing me back to the table from wherever I’ve drifted off to, lost in the curves of Rose’s near-perfect body.

I balk, knowing I’m not going to rouse the topic now that we aren’t alone.

“No. No, I just wanted to see how Rose is settling in,” I lie, standing. “But I see that you have it all under control, as always, Miss Katherine.”

“Rose is taking good care of me. You boys won’t need to worry about me so much now that she’s here.” Katherine’s eyes soften as they rest on her granddaughter, a warm smile slowly blooming on her face. The tender gaze and the gentle curve of her lips make it clear how much she’s already taken with this young woman.

I eye Rose curiously. “Are you staying, then?”

She blushes and looks down, gnawing on the corner of her full, luscious lip. I know she isn’t doing it intentionally, but every move she makes appears exaggerated, sexual—and highly inappropriate right in front of Katherine. Rose eyes me through her peripheral vision, and I realize how intently I’m staring at her, hinging on her response.

“Katherine asked me to stay on for a while and… yes, I’m considering it.”

I stand back and straighten my body, nodding nonchalantly.

“Interesting.” Rose gives me an odd look, but I ignore it as I turn to the door. “I’ll leave you ladies to it. Enjoy that breakfast.”

“You sure you won’t stay, Connor?” Katherine calls out wistfully. “There really is plenty.”

“I have too much to do today, Miss Katherine, but I’ll see you soon, don’t you worry.” I offer a backward wave and let myself out the side door, my mind whirling.

Katherine obviously received no letter from our harassers, given that she was in such a good mood. It’s time to talk to the others now and see if we need to step up matters.

Then maybe I can come back and see Rose Winterbourne for lunch.

It’s a notion that unexpectedly appeals to me, even as I’m wrapped in layers of suspicion about her. The prospect of seeing her again ignites something inside me that I’m desperately trying to label as mere curiosity.

CHAPTER5

Hudson

The mare snorts twice, shying away from my steady hand under the brush, and I whirl toward the entrance, trusting the horse’s instincts more than my own.

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